Here is a great place to learn about all the different chart formations, and what they mean:
http://www.tradejuice.com/technical-...re-charts.html
Here is a triple bottom:
http://www.surefire-trading.com/tsl/...ipleBottom.gif
And here is a Triple Top
http://www.surefire-trading.com/tsl/.../TripleTop.gif
Patterns ar created by the movement of the share price within the range of existing data. If the price moves up or down MORE than three units of price, then you get a reversal signal (changing from O's (down) to X's(up).
But the pattern created is just one of the factors to consider.
When to Buy and Sell
When analysing the charts to determine the best time to buy and sell shares, the following criteria must be evaluated:
1. Patterns
2. Trend Lines
3. Market Indicators
4. Price Objectives (PO).
What you are asking about is the first criteria in determining when is a good time to buy and sell. It's 1. the pattern present. A good start is recognizing what the pattern present is. It can tell you where the stock has been. But by itself, it cannot tell you more than that.
So the answer to your first part of your first question, you ask: what is a "descending triple bottom breakdown"?
Answer: It means that it has hit at least two equal lows, (represented by the O's,) and then hit another, lower descending O.